[willp68]

My subscription for McAfee is ready to expire and I was wondering what the experts recommend for anti-virus software.

Free is great but I'd buy one it you folks consider it necessary.

Thanks!

PS: I have not been able to rid my startup list of 2 suspicious items with the software I have so far.
wtta
netd32

[Leungwk01]

There's is no best anti-virus software. People have different opinions so you'll most likely get different responses.
Personally, I think ESET smart security is good as it does the job and unnoticeable running in the background.
Kaspersky smart security isn't too bad as well but both of these software cost something.

Edit: I also use malwarebytes' antimalware for my 32bit operating system, and norton antibot for my 64bit vista. (I use norton antibot instead on x64 because the live protection doesn't work in my case)

[Jason08]

Also, I think it's true no anti-virus can catch every single thing out there. For my protection, I use McAfee (yeah, it's not really the best) and Malwarebytes.

[willp68]

Thanks for the answers!

I also run McAfee and malwarebytes plus spybot now and then..

I wondered about AVG? Free but is it anygood?

[Jason08]

I think so. I've also heard Avira and Avast are good as well.

[Rich-M]

For me "hands down" Nod32 is the best, especially since it can also repel most spyware too even though it cannot scan for it inside.

[Elvandil]

The "best" is the one that catches the threat before it ruins your machine. But seriously, there is no "best". All the major AV companies make very good products. And there is no reason to think that the free ones are not just as good. I find that at times the free offerings work even better than the pay ones since they are trying to convince you to buy their product. They make the free ones very good to impress you. (Just recently I signed up for VOIP because the free calls I made were so clear. But the pay version was terrible and I cancelled the contract.)

I'm using Avira now after using AVG for years. They both seem to do a good job. The only reason I switched is because Avira makes adding exceptions a lot easier. But I use the ESET (NOD32) boot CD for cleaning up machines that I work on, and that is also a very good product.

[RootbeaR]

The "best" is an informed user. One who is not "click" happy and uses a secure browser such as Firefox with the NoScript add-on.

Personally, I dual boot with XP/Linux.

XP = Games and tax software

Linux = everything else.

Very little chance of getting infected with Linux(I believe there are 30 virus' total for Linux although none in the wild at the moment) and if you are real paranoid, use a LiveCD, such as PuppyLinux.

[perfume]

Dear@O.P,
What Elvandil said is correct. Avira Antivir has this"stop at the gate" ability and it's free too (though they have a paid version). AVG is down south and many folks have posted a number of problems with updating, flaws in virus-catching and uninstalling. Avast is considered very good. I use Kaspersky Internet Suite, but would'nt recommend it because "the false positive rate is on the higher side" and customer service is not "in time" and sometimes downright rude. As originally mentioned, you'll get opinions which you may take into account because we have experienced them. Nothing matters more than that. I have bought Bit Defender Suite to replace KIS2009!

[Elvandil]

Firefox may not actually be too secure. There were more security problems with it in the last 2 years than with IE. IE, with all its security enabled, is probably the most secure browser there is. But all the security also reduces its usability.

This article is not current, but at the time, Firefox had 4 times as many security problems as IE. I'm sure more will be found in recent releases and IE's security has also improved with IE7 and 8.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1...art.html?pg=18

The State of Colorado has ruled Firefox to be unsafe and IE as safe:

http://digg.com/security/State_of_Co...secure_IE_safe

So my point is that there is no "secure" browser and none may be better than another. A little research shows that Firefox vaunted "security" is largely an internet myth.

"The "best" is an informed user."

[perfume]

To add," an informed user"who does resists the temptation offered by Satan to download via torrents! DETT-"Don't Even think Torrents".

Browsers again is a matter of choice. Elvandil prefers IE.

I prefer FF3 with "NoScript and other security add ons" along with Tor Bundle.

Gizzy(sorry to drag your name in here) prefers Opera.

Anybody for"Safari"?
PS: New version of WOT is out.

[Elvandil]

Originally Posted by perfume

To add," an informed user"who does resists the temptation offered by Satan to download via torrents! DETT-"Don't Even think Torrents".

Browsers again is a matter of choice. Elvandil prefers IE.

I prefer FF3 with "NoScript and other security add ons" along with Tor Bundle.

Gizzy(sorry to drag your name in here) prefers Opera.

Anybody for"Safari"?
PS: New version of WOT is out.

No, I don't prefer IE. IE is needed for a lot of things I do because others don't support the plugins. But I am right now using Sleipnir for news, SeaMonkey for TSG, and Avant for browsing for movies. I don't especially like the IE interface and like SeaMonkey because it doesn't pause when loading other pages like all the others do.

Firefox is actually at the bottom of my list. I think it's just too slow and clunky for frequent use. SeaMonkey with pipelining and prefectching turned on is a lot faster. And what's with the constant updates? Why don't they just do a good job to start with instead of releasing all the junk and trying to fix it later?

That Safari gray just depresses me. But each new version's functionality is a bit better than the one previous. History seems to show that Apple has never been very good at writing Windows software. Just look at QuickTime and iTunes.

[Jason08]

I always use IE, and currently have IE8. Not sure how exactly we went from anti-virus to browser…but I guess it's somewhat on topic since we're talking about security.

[willp68]

Well I certainly do appreciate all your advice. I do believe that after seeing evandil using AVIRA, I will try that one.
Do I uninstall McAfee *before* I take the AVIRA download? or right after?

Thanks again!

[perfume]

As Jason08 said, let's bring back things into perspective.

1)A Well informed user,
2) Avira or Avast for free A-Vs,
3) ESET(nod32), use the free fully functional one month trial period before deciding. KIS2009 (personally not happy). Is McAfee climbing up the ladder?
4) Comments from those who are using other free or bought A-Vs and a roundup on Bit Defender will be most helpful( I've bought a 3 licensed boxed version of B-T).
5) Reasons as to why you prefer a particular A-V over others will be most informative to the O.P and all others!

PEACE!